Apple Launches iAd Producer for Easy iAd Development

Written by Dave Courbanou 1
December 22, 2010

Apple has released the iAd Producer development environment, which enables developers to more easily create iAds. Available to members of the iOS Developer Program, iAd Producer aims to address previous complaints about difficulties working with Apple in developing iAds. Developers can craft ads with a light hand using iMovie or get heavy-handed with a real iOS app. Here are some more details and the MSP/VAR implications …

Apple claims iAd producer provides and automatically manages HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript behind the scenes, so developers can focus on making their iAd as sexy as possible. Motion movements, stylized screens and eye-catching interactivity are “as easy as point and click,” according to Apple. Advanced developers (or advertisers) can use the built-in JavaScript editing and debugging mechanism to create more custom ads.

But iAd Producer actually comes with a built-in set of templates for a variety of styles, with a focus on ‘visually designing’ and virtually testing the ads out as fast as possible.

That’s good news for VARs and MSPs, because even though it’s a $100-a-year subscription in the iOS Developer Program, VARs and MSPs could gain an incredible amount of exposure pushing their iAds out to the community of iOS device users, even if their company doesn’t use or support iOS devices. What’s more, they don’t need to have their marketing teams learn anything new. All they need is an Intel Mac.

There’s still a lot of discussion about whether iAds are profitable for developers and how well iAds turn out, but it’s worth looking into. No screen is more frequently checked than the one in the pocket. Mobile ads are becoming the the best advertising platform to reach people, and engaging ads on iOS devices are something of a novelty. Users are happy to play and look on a mobile device, unlike desktop devices, where ads usually are ignored or blocked.

The only caveat? It’s not known how Apple will handle submission of ads and whether they’re subject to the same scrutiny and rejections that apps are. Still, it’s an audience worth reaching, right?

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